There is a certain exclusivity expected in “romantic”/marriage type relationships. This seems right. But how much and what type of exclusivity is needed? As mentioned earlier, we’ve generally expected that “romantic” relationships must fulfill most all of our relational needs. Along with the “romantic myth” and exclusivity, or perhaps a specific expression of it, comes
Rethinking Friendships and “Romance”: Expressions of Love
Love can be expressed in all types of relationships. The ways in which love are expressed (“love languages”) are the same for all types of relationships: words of affirmation, quality time, giving and receiving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. Our culture has a weak paradigm for love and the expression of love outside
Rethinking Friendships and “Romance”: The Romantic Myth
My thoughts in this section are a bit less solidified. I may revisit and update them later. I’m trying to be as honest and realistic as possible, but it’s a bit difficult. This is in part because I know people have a wide range of experiences, though I only have limited experience myself. “Falling in
Rethinking Friendships and “Romance”: Our Need for Relationships
In sorting out what I’ve been thinking, I’ve come up with a number of “bullet point” style ideas. They are either beliefs which I have, or ideas I’m seriously considering. I’m posting them here to communicate my overall paradigm, and numbering them for easy reference. I believe that we—human beings—are made to be in relationships.
Rethinking Friendships and “Romance”: Initial Thoughts
The main idea I took from the
Rethinking Friendships and “Romance”: Quotes
For the past several days to a week or so, I’ve been trying to sort out some ideas sparked by the following quotes. The area of friendship, marriage and “romantic” relationships is wide and complex. For that reason it’s taking me quite a while to process all of my thoughts. I plan to blog more
Christianity 101: We Have a Problem
(Note: This article is based on the previous lessons. Please review these, if you have not already done so, before proceeding.) God created people to live in this awesome world. Not only that, but he commissioned us to care for it on his behalf. God intended that we would live with him and other people
Dealing with Sin: The Context for Confession and Confrontation
I chose to look at these topics together since they are interrelated—they both regard dealing with sin. Confession is done by the sinner and confrontation by someone else. (Here I am discussing personal confession and not corporate confession.) It seems to me that many Christians, especially conservative evangelicals, are very interested in pointing out people’s
What Virtue is Primary?
Christianity is known in large part for belief in certain virtues. Among them are love, grace, mercy, honesty, truth, peace, integrity, purity, etc. (While many people may not think of these things when they think of Christians, they think these things are what Christianity is about. Many do not have positive opinion of Christians, precisely
Community and The Specials
I watched the movie The Specials again the other night. I really enjoy the film. Here on my blog, I won’t officially recommend watching it due to a fair amount of graphic language. But I feel like there is a lot of truth and some good lessons to take from it. The Specials are a